


Corporate Coffee

by Batsutousai



Series: Holiday Card Ficlets 2018 [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 12:48:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17808242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Batsutousai/pseuds/Batsutousai
Summary: Tony's coffee machine breaks, requiring him to leave his workshop and settle for shop-made coffee. At least he finds a good conversation partner.





	Corporate Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> Every winter season, I send out cards to anyone willing to give me their address, and I decided three winters ago to start adding fic to the cards. This year's prompt was coffeeshop.  
> While this was intended as pre-slash, and has been marked as such, it can be read as platonic.

"This," Tony heard himself say, looking between the empty shelf of replacement coffee machines and the remains of what had apparently been his last one, " _might_ be a problem."

Okay, honestly? There was no 'might' about it.

Tony had learnt back in college that most coffee makers – even the ones without electronic components – had parts that could prove extremely useful in the middle of a project. After the third time he'd cannibalised their only coffee maker for one project or another, Rhodey had started buying spares. _Multiple_ spares, after the one time Tony hadn't had enough tubing in the apartment, even with the coffee maker, and had cannibalised the spare, as well.

Taking Rhodey's wisdom to heart, Tony had always made sure to have a stock of spare coffee makers. He was fairly certain keeping track of the inventory had become Pepper's job, because she was somehow far less infallible than an AI, at least in regard to keeping Tony's lab stocked with coffee. Which, ah, between the mess of their failed relationship – the very reason for Tony locking himself into his lab and working himself to exhaustion – and the day-to-day of managing Stark Industries fallen between them, it was no wonder she hadn't cared to keep tabs on his coffee machine spares.

Tony had vague memories of JARVIS trying to stop him at some point, and assumed it had been due to the lack of spare coffee machines. Which Tony had ignored, as he often did when JARVIS was trying to catch his attention for some reason that Tony didn't consider to be an emergency. (Well, didn't consider to be more important than whatever he was in the middle of that moment; he'd put in a series of fail safes so he couldn't actually ignore JARVIS if the interruption was about Iron Man being needed. Mostly so certain persons – coughSteve Rogerscough – would stop harping on him about being late or simply never coming when he was called.)

Actually, you know, along that train of thought, if he could create an armour that would fly itself, or a subroutine that would let _JARVIS_ fly a suit in his stead, he wouldn't _need_ to answer any summons.

He walked over to the coffee machine, reaching out to hit the start button, only to find nothing there.

"Well," he muttered, staring down, once again, at the mess of parts scattered along the counter, "shit."

He had a couple of different options: He could have a new coffee machine delivered, which would take at least an hour, and then he'd have to program it to his specifications before he could use it. He could go out and buy a new machine himself, which lessened the waiting time, but still required him to program it before he could use it. Or, he could figure out where the closest coffee shop was, then go buy himself some coffee.

He sighed. "JARVIS, put in an order for–" he glanced towards the cupboard the machines were usually stored in "–how many does that thing hold? Ten?"

"Ten, sir," JARVIS agreed.

"Right, plus one; eleven coffee machines. Delivered ASAP. And tell me where the closest coffee shop is."

"There is a Starbucks directly across the street from this building's main entrance."

Tony blinked. "Huh. That was...excellent planning. On someone's part." Probably not his; he didn't usually have a need to go out for coffee.

"I would suggest, sir, that you change before going out," JARVIS added before Tony could do more than turn towards the door of his lab.

"Change?" Tony asked, glancing down at himself. And, okay, yeah, his clothing had grease and oil and God knew what else stains from working way too long in his lab without taking a break. "Right. I guess."

Once dressed in clean clothing, he rode the elevator down to the lobby of the building, smiled politely at the employees who greeted him – it was apparently business hours; at least now he knew why JARVIS had told him to change – then stepped outside into the sunshine for what was probably the first time in a week and, taking his life into his own hands, made a slightly insane dash across the street to the Starbucks silently beckoning him over.

The place wasn't too crowded and there were only two people ahead of him in line, so it didn't take him long to order. (Though he did struggle a bit with deciphering their menu; he eventually settled on black coffee, after spotting the condiments bar next to the pick-up counter.) He also picked out some sort of cheese danish from their miniature bakery, uncertain when he'd last eaten anything and having suffered far too many lectures about how coffee was not food.

The danish was only so-so, but the coffee was both hot and not burnt-bitter (unlike the last time he'd chanced getting coffee from a coffee shop), and since it had been the coffee he'd come for, he counted it as a win.

It was only as he was turning to leave, after having drank enough to safely add his preferred amount of creamer, that he recognised a familiar face at one of the tables. "Well," he said, striding over, "imagine seeing you here, brother of Thor. Or not-brother." It was hard to keep track, some weeks, whether Thor and Loki were talking or not. Especially since Tony didn't, actually, care; Loki caused (mostly harmless) trouble either way, though usually only enough to annoy SHIELD.

Loki flashed him a bright, too-sharp smile. "Stark. What brings you down from your steel tower?"

Tony debated for a moment – Loki wasn't officially their enemy any more, but he wasn't really their ally unless it suited him – before shrugging and motioning with his cup of coffee. "Cannibalised my coffee machine for a part." He glanced at the cup and empty pastry bag on the table in front of the other. "What brings you to my neighbourhood?"

Loki seemed to consider that for a moment, reaching out with long, slim fingers to press along the edge of the pastry bag, flattening it against the table. "Perhaps," he murmured, "this is also my neighbourhood."

Tony considered that as he took a sip of his coffee. He supposed it might make sense to live within shouting distance of the renamed Avenger's Tower – Tony was the only one who lived in it most of the time, but the whole team had rooms to stay in, and they'd been known to crash there after a rough fight – and Loki didn't actually cause any trouble nearby. (Which everyone had assumed was due to the nearness of at least one of the Avengers, but it would also make sense if he happened to live nearby; not shitting in his own backyard, so to speak.)

"Well," he settled on responding, "now I just feel like a bad neighbour."

Loki let out a quiet laugh that sounded just a little bit surprised. "In what way?" he asked, and Tony thought he sounded like he was honestly interested in the answer.

Tony suspected Loki would expect something like 'I should be keeping an eye on you for SHIELD', which was so _not_ his style; or even for Thor, though Tony had no intention in getting in the middle of that family drama if he could avoid it.

In truth, there had always been something just a little bit fascinating about the supposed god, and Tony had always wanted to know him better, even when he'd been wary of the very real danger he'd posed. And there were days – weeks, _months_ – when Tony found himself alone at the top of his tower – the other Avengers and Rhodey and Pepper all busy with other things, with the causes and jobs that they focussed on when they weren't saving the world or babysitting Tony – and he knew enough of Loki's psychological profile to bet he was the same; they could have turned to each other in those moments, if only just to have someone there to annoy.

But Tony Stark would never admit to any of that behind closed doors, and _certainly_ not in public, so instead he said, "Neighbours do, like, house-warming shindigs and come to annoy each other for, I don't know, _flour_ at odd hours. Or is that not something they do in Oz?"

Loki's mouth quirked with a faint smile. "Less emerald, more gold," he said.

Tony pointed at him, opening his mouth to say...

Actually, he didn't know what he was going to say, so he settled for taking another sip of his coffee. "Amber City?" he suggested after swallowing down the warmth.

Loki tapped one long finger against his lips, gaze considering. "Acceptable; gold is overused."

Tony couldn't help but grin, wide and delighted, because Bruce was the only one who ever really played along with him. And even that was rare, any more. "Seriously, I'm a terrible neighbour. We should do neighbour things. If just to freak out Fury when he finds out."

Loki's eyes glinted, just a hint of old malice making his smile look a little too close to dangerous, to _hungry_.

Tony grinned right back, just a little manic, and motioned for Loki to join him in walking back to the tower.

He wasn't particularly surprised when Loki did.

.


End file.
